Copenhagen, Oct 23 - Danish brewer Carlsberg said on Thursday its French subsidiary, Brasseries Kronenbourg, would cut 214 out of its 1,400 employees as part of a turnaround plan to restore profitability.
"The plan will result in a complete reorganisation of the company," Carlsberg said in a statement.
"Even as market leader Brasseries Kronenbourg is losing market share," Carlsberg said.
The brewer, which acquired Kronenbourg this year as part of its 7.8 billion pound ($12.79 billion) deal with Dutch peer Heineken to buy Britain's Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), said the plan would help it increase sales in France, win back market share and restore profitability.
Carlsberg shares were trading 10.9 percent lower on Thursday, underperforming the Copenhagen bourse's top-20 OMX index , which was 3.6 percent off. The shares have lost 60 percent of their value so far this year on the back of increasing global consumer gloom.
The world's fifth biggest brewer said the French beer market had been declining for many years and not least in the last two years, due to strong legislation and a general economic slowdown.